July 21, 2014

Last week, Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams released the findings of the grand jury investigating the Darrin Manning case. To no one’s surprise, the grand jury “concluded that the police acted responsibly and that no criminal act was committed by any members of the police department on that day.”

To hear the cops tell it, the Jan. 7, 2014 incident was a Norman Rockwell moment.

You see, Officer Thomas Purcell wanted to stop Darrin and his teammates out of concern they were trying to get this attention:

Unsure whether the students needed help or were trying to communicate with the police, he opened his door and asked the students what they said. Officer Purcell further testified that he did not hear any response from the students; the students, including Student #1, agreed that they did not respond to the officer.

At 1:55:22 p.m., Officer Purcell activated the police lights on the van in order to perform a U-turn on the busy street. He also testified that he was performing a U-turn to further investigate whether the students were victims of or witnesses to a crime, hence their trying to get the officers’ attention.

Matthew Smith Sr., president of the Pennsylvania State Chapter National Action Network, dismissed Officer Purcell’s testimony as inconsistent with police-community relations in Philadelphia. Smith said in a statement:

It strains credulity to suggest Officer Thomas Purcell stopped in the middle of Girard Avenue out of concern the teenagers were trying to get his attention. When they ran that should have been a clue they didn’t want to talk with him. And that should have been the end of the story. But it wasn’t. Darrin Manning stopped because he knew he had done nothing wrong. Everything that followed flowed from an illegal investigatory stop.

The grand jury found the evidence doesn’t support Darrin’s claim that a white female officer grabbed and squeezed his testicle. Officer Cucinotta testified she was “physically unable to reach his genital area.”

My experience is that a man’s genital area is in easy reach no matter what he’s wearing.

Attorney Small asked:

The real question is why did they omit Darrin’s teammates’ testimony in their finding that he heard Darrin screaming that the police officer was squeezing his balls, and yet they quote him as to the resisting arrest? He corroborates Darrin’s version of the events.

April 29, 2014

On Monday, Attorney General Eric Holder announced the Justice Department is launching a new initiative to collect data about stops, searches and arrests in an effort to “reduce tensions between law enforcement and minority communities.” Holder said:

This overrepresentation of young men of color in our criminal justice system is a problem we must confront—not only as an issue of individual responsibility but also as one of fundamental fairness, and as an issue of effective law enforcement. Racial disparities contribute to tension in our nation generally and within communities of color specifically, and tend to breed resentment towards law enforcement that is counterproductive to the goal of reducing crime.

On Jan. 7, 2014, Darrin Manning, a 16-year-old honor student from a good family, was minding his own business. On a record cold day in Philadelphia, he was wearing a hoodie on his way to play in his school’s basketball game. That was enough for a Philadelphia police officer to stop him for “acting suspiciously.” Less than 24 hours after the illegal investigatory stop and violent pat down by a white female officer, Darrin underwent emergency surgery at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Fast forward three months. Philippe Holland, a 20-year-old black man from a good family, is in critical condition at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania after two plainclothes police officers fired 14 shots into his car. Three of the bullets hit him. Holland is a pizza deliveryman who was on his second job when he was shot. This hard-working man may lose an eye because two Philly cops deemed a black man wearing a hoodie with his hands in his pockets is acting suspiciously.

Reminiscent of the Frank Rizzo regime, he must be smiling from the grave. Just another gang of thugs with no regard for the law and rights of citizens they are sworn and paid to uphold… 'Tainted justice'? That's just the tip of the iceberg. The cops are shooting innocent people in the streets like animals. That pizza delivery guy didn't choose to be in that neighborhood at that hour. It was his job. He was just trying to get home to his family. The fact that an innocent man with not even a traffic warrant ran for his life in that situation definitely indicates that there was something seriously wrong in the way they approached him. In his trying to protect his life they shot him down like a dog. It has to stop. Truly the worst of times have arrived when law abiding citizens need protection from so-called 'law enforcement.'

Indeed, from former Police Commissioner Frank Rizzo to current Commissioner Ramsey Charles, the more things change, the more they remain the same.

The new National Center for Building Community Trust and Justice should collect data about Philadelphia, where it’s always Groundhog Day. In 1979, the Justice Department accused then-Mayor Frank Rizzo of “condoning policies to commit random beatings, unjustified shootings and other flagrant civil rights violations.” The lawsuit noted the victims of police misconduct were overwhelmingly black or Hispanic.

But we don’t have to wait on the feds to hold officials, including the next mayor, accountable. Philadelphia Daily News columnist Will Bunch recently wrote:

Ask the men and women who want to be Philadelphia's next mayor after Nutter leaves office in 2015 what they will do to change the current system where so few allegations of police misconduct stick (remember this guy) and the end result is so often that the officer accused of wrongdoing gets his job back with back overtime pay (what is that, even?).

Sure, we can complain but to have an impact we must do something. So with a hat tip to the New York Police Department, we will use #myPhillyPD to tell the story of the Philadelphia Police Department’s pattern or practice of racial bias in law enforcement. The crowdsourced interactive map will help citizens hold officials accountable for their failure to end the culture of corruption that taints Philly police officers and breeds resentment and distrust in communities of color.

To get involved, post a photo to Twitter with the hashtag #myPhillyPD. Not on Twitter? No problem. Go to http://bit.ly/myPhillyPD and upload your photos.

March 17, 2014

Friday marked the two-month anniversary of a Philly-style stop-and-frisk that made national and international headlines. A white female police officer conducted an illegal pat down of Darrin Manning during the course of which she grabbed his testicles. Less than 24 hours later, Darrin underwent emergency surgery at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Friday also marked the date of Darrin’s appearance in Juvenile Court to stand trial on trumped-up charges stemming from the illegal stop and frisk.

To no one’s surprise, the District Attorney’s office requested a continuance because they are “conducting additional investigation into the underlying matter and the actions of the police during the arrest of young Mr. Manning.”

Judge Amanda Cooperman granted the joint request for a continuance. A status hearing will be held on April 28, 2014. Darrin’s presence is not required. Instead, his attorney, Lewis Small, and an Assistant DA will tell Judge Cooperman “where we go from here.”

Two months later, where are we? We still don’t know the name of the female officer who sexually assaulted Darrin. The blue code of silence has silenced Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey. But it’s only a matter of time before he has to say her name.

We still don’t know why Officer Thomas stopped Darrin. The 2011 consent decree the City of Philadelphia entered into with the ACLU provides:

Stops and frisks shall not be permissible, without limitation, where the officer has only anonymous information of criminal conduct, or because the person is only “loitering” or engaged in “furtive movements,” or is acting “suspiciously,” or for the purpose of “investigation of person,” or on the basis of non-articulated “flash information,” or only because the person is in a “high crime” or “high drug” area.

In plain English, police officers are permitted to stop, question, and frisk individuals who are suspected of committing, having committed or about to commit a crime.

In calling on District Attorney Seth Williams to drop the charges against his client, Attorney Small said:

None of those conditions were met. There were no radio calls indicating any crimes being committed. Boys running on a very cold afternoon, without more, does not meet the [reasonable suspicion] condition, particularly when Darrin had stopped running and walked over to the police van.

With no allegation that Darrin was engaged in any criminal activity, the 16-year-old honor student is guilty of being arrested.

February 19, 2014

Seven weeks ago, Darrin Manning, a 16-year-old honor student, was minding his own business. On a record cold day in Philadelphia, he was wearing a hoodie and scarf on his way to play in his charter school’s basketball game. That was enough for Officer Thomas Purcell to make it his business to stop him. In Purcell’s worldview, a young black man is “acting suspiciously” when he bundles up against the cold.

Following the illegal stop, frisk and arrest, a white female police officer patted down Darrin. During the course of her illegal pat down, she grabbed Darrin’s testicles. Twice. Less than 24 hours later, he underwent emergency surgery at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. His operating physician wrote:

He [Darrin] was involved with an encounter with the police department during which his scrotum was grabbed and he reported acute onset of left testicular pain.

Those are some of the facts highlighted at today’s press conference. In attendance were Darrin’s lawyer, Lewis Small; his mother, Ikea Coney; Veronica Joyner, founder and chief administrative officer of the Mathematics, Civics and Sciences Charter School of Philadelphia; and Paula Peebles, chair of the Pennsylvania State Chapter of the National Action Network.

In calling on District Attorney Seth Williams to drop the charges, Attorney Small said:

What happened to Darrin is a case of stop-and-frisk run amok.

The fact that Darrin did not have a weapon and in fact is not a criminal seem to have no relevance to the police. Darrin was stopped for no reason. He was arrested for no reason. He was subjected to a brutal attack for no reason. The charges made against Darrin are not supported and should be dropped.

[…]

Darrin Manning has suffered enough. It’s time for the District Attorney to withdraw the charges in this case. It’s time to end this injustice.

Darrin and his mother have suffered enough. The trumped-up charges won’t shield the Philadelphia Police Department from being held accountable for engaging in a pattern or practice of stops and frisks undertaken without reasonable suspicion.